Then Reds boss Rafa Benitez wanted him as a replacement for Xabi Alonso, who he tried to sell to Real Madrid, but Liverpool fans incensed by the impending departure of their hero made their feelings know by chanting abuse at Barry...even before he signed.

That left one of the nicest men in football in the surreal position of being booed not only by fans of the club he wanted to leave at Aston Villa, but by the fans of the club he wanted to join!

“I was very, very close to joining Liverpool. I had told Martin O’Neill I wanted to leave but ultimately they didn’t stump up the fee,” he recalls now with a bemused grin.

“The big thing with the Liverpool fans was that it looked like one of their favourites was leaving, in Alonso, and they looked at me as the reason for it. That’s fans I suppose, the fans heard he was leaving, I was coming in and put two and two together.

“I still remember watching a pre-season friendly and they made it obvious they weren’t keen on me coming in to replace him! He was a fantastic player and I can understand it.

(Image: Dino Panato)

“No-one knows what that move could have done for me, whether it would have been good for me and Liverpool, but there was nothing I could have done about it.

“But at the time they were in the Champions League regularly. I’d had a long spell at Villa and not experienced that. They were the only club showing an interest and I felt it would’ve been good for me, but in the end they chose to spend their money on Robbie Keane.”

Barry is hoping he will actually deserve the abuse from the Liverpool fans this afternoon, as he faces the Mersey rivals in an intriguing showdown that is a surprise top of the table clash.

At least it will mean he has performed for Everton - something he never actually managed to do after he chose to join Manchester City instead of Benitez, when the manager came calling again 12 months after the initial deal fell through.

Barry had decided the Manchester club offered a better long term bet - with history showing he made the right decision.

But that earned him fresh abuse from not only the Reds fans, but from the Spanish coach as well, even though Benitez had pulled the plug himself a season earlier.

And he admits it was a bizarre time as he spent a year trying to win back the Villa fans, while facing sniping criticism from the Reds supporters who had made their feelings known during a pre-season friendly game against Lazio.

“City weren’t in the Champions League and Liverpool were, but the things being told to me were the things that happened, like signing some of the best players in the world and I wanted to be part of it,” he said.

(Image: Getty)

“You look at the way the two clubs have been since and City have been regulars in the Champions League and picked up a couple of trophies, while Liverpool have not. I could sit here and be all smug, but I won’t be.

“I have a lot of respect for Liverpool, it’s a fantastic club with a lot of history. But things happen for a reason, and I ended up with a Premier League and FA Cup,which was massive.

“Mind, it was at the beginning of that season it was tough, but Martin knew I’d just get on with the job and eventually he gave me the captain’s armband!”

Barry will come face to face with his old friend Steven Gerrard today, after the pair made their England debuts together as young midfielders back more than a decade ago.

They even roomed together at Euro 2000, and Gerrard pressed hard for him to move to Anfield, but he believes he made the right decision, even if he would have loved to partner the Reds skipper.

“We were both really young, nervous lads then at Euro 2000 and we roomed together, because you need someone to be around when you’re away from home for that long,” he says.

“We were the same sort of age, but being a Scouser, he was a bit more forward! He led the conversations but he’s always been confident.

“I remember him saying then that ambition was to win 50-100 caps and always backed himself to the max.

“We were both away with England when I joined City and I had chats with Stevie about it. He was keen on me joining Liverpool but you don’t put friendships above what you think is right for you."